Sunlight War
by Drafonis
Summary: Prequel to Moonlight War. In response to growing bullying problems, Hotaru is sent to study karate in Nerima. Chaos ensues.


**Sunlight War**

**--- **

A/N: This prequel to Moonlight War (hence the title), but is a Ranma/Sailor Moon crossover. This explains several things in the main storyline, such as the details of the training Makoto gave Hotaru. Just think of this as a tie-in.

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma½ or Sailor Moon. They are the property of respective owners, and were written by Rumiko Takahashi and Naoko Takeuchi respectively.

---

"Hey, freak! Why don't you just go away!" came the verbal insults that my classmates used to mask their fear of me.

Perhaps I should go back from the beginning. I'm Hotaru Tomoe, a Japanese school girl who, despite having to put her neck out on the line constantly, is feared – and perhaps hated – by the very people I protect. Perhaps I sound bitter. But the bullies, despite the apparent desire for my departure, seemed to close in on my, forcing me to have my back against the wall. Discomfort must have been evident on my face, for the began to laugh maniacally.

"Please stop... I just want to... go home..." I muttered nervously. The worst part of it was that I could beat all of these tormentors easily, but I knew that I shouldn't. But then the situation got more serious.

"You want to go home? You hear that? She wants to go home!" the bullies guffawed. And one of them, an impatient boy who was on the school's aikijutsu team, threw a punch at me. I moved to block.

After that, for what felt like hours, all that I knew was pain. Fists and feet slammed into my body, sending blasts of pain through my entire body. This was my life since Galaxia's defeat, though never had the more physical bullies been this rough before.

And, just as suddenly as the onslaught started, it stopped as the bullies grew bored of tormenting me and walked away. Such was the fate of the Senshi of Death and Rebirth. I walked home, rubbing some of my more serious injuries. Fortunately, all of the bullies had the self control not to beat me too hard – which is to say, to the point where I cannot walk. Then again, rumors had gotten around that I was friends with the Sailor Senshi, especially Sailor Saturn. This made me laugh, as I was Sailor Saturn.

When I came home, the usual, frustrating fussing over my battered appearance began in earnest. Although I secretly prayed Haruka-papa would beat those bullies senseless.

"Tadaima." I called as I opened the door. I stepped into the entrance hall, pulling off my sneakers and slipping into my purple slippers.

"Iterashai..." Michiru-mama said as she walked into the entrance hall and gasped; her eyes widened in shock. "What... what happened?"

"A bunch of kids..." I stammered nervously; there would be serious fallout from this problem; that I could tell for sure. And it did, courtesy of a very irate Haruka-papa, who had heard the commotion.

"I will not allow this to go on any further. Hotaru-chan, I'll ask Makoto if she'll give you some lessons; then, you and I'll be going to stay with an old friend of ours. He helped me out of a tough spot while I was learning to fight." Haruka-papa said with such conviction that even Michiru-mama stayed silent. Setsuna-mama just shook her head in mild annoyance.

"A friend? Where does he live?" I asked eagerly. Most of Haruka-papa's old friends were interesting characters indeed.

"In Nerima-ku. I had to go there anyway; I got in an argument with my sponsor, and it just so happened that an auto repair company in that area was considering sponsoring me." she said, smiling wistfully. Clearly she had twisted the truth slightly; it was most probably she that had started the argument

"Was that how it happened, 'Ruka?" Michiru-mama asked suggestively. Sensing an oncoming display of passion, I quickly excused myself to my room to do homework. Indeed, I did have a lot compared to last year, and it was early in the year.

Trying to work, I ignored the sounds of commotion. This was the first time Setsuna-mama had come in a while; that meant that something dark was approaching, and maybe we would be called upon to fight it again. Perhaps my training would be useful one day in battle, and, if not, I'd do anything if it meant _not_ heading home with a black eye once in a while.

"Hotaru-chan, dinner!" Michiru-mama shouted, and a looked around, confused. I'd been sitting at my desk... I still was, but why was the page so close to my eyes? I must have fallen asleep, I'd realized, and the time written on the desk clock suggested that, as well – it was already near nightfall, and school had let out early.

"Coming, Michiru-mama!" I yelled, closing my books, rose, and descended the stairs towards the dinner table.

"Are you alright, Hotaru-chan?" asked Haruka-papa.

"Yes. Just a bit tired, I guess."

"Well, rest for now, and tomorrow you start training."

"Now, Haruka – shouldn't we let her rest first?" Michiru-mama asked.

"I am – isn't one day enough?"

"No!"

"Michiru-mama, I'll do the training. I suspect it's necessary... for many reasons." I said.

"Okay. Well, let's eat. _Itadakimasu."_

_"Itadakimasu." _Haruka-papa and I said, picking up our chopsticks to begin eating.

Dinner was a silent affair, with several of us rising and sitting back down to get various things. Haruka-papa left around the end to finish the arrangements with Mako-chan. With the house to ourselves, Michiru-mama, Setsuna-mama, and I sat down and turned on the television. But, there was nothing on. So Michiru-mama decided to put on her show she'd set to record for two hours ago...

The tape showed a guy in a red Chinese shirt, going through what looked like acrobatics mixed with karate... Or was it kempo?

"Haruka!" screamed Michiru-mama angrily.

---

A/N: I think I'll end on this note. Don't worry, most of the story will be like the VCR twist, not the being between up part. Please, tell me what you think!

Japanese Words:

Itadakimasu - Let's eat.

Tadaima - I'm home.

Iterashai - Welcome home.


End file.
